Whumptober 2019 - 07 - Isolation
by DinerGuy
Summary: 2018 reboot. He tried to hold on to the memories of his friends' voices, but even those seemed so far away and hard to reach.


_A/N: Yes, I know it's a little shorter this time. Honestly, I wish I could make them all many-thousands of words long, but writing 31 prompts in just a handful of weeks is a little hard to sustain that level for all of them. ;) I do have a few more longer ones coming down the pipeline, but I think I really like how this one turned out._

_Standard disclaimers apply._

* * *

He didn't know how much time had passed since he'd been left alone. Stuck in the pitch dark without any way to track the minutes passing, his best approximation was just that—a guess.

The room around him was silent. He could hear the water outside the boat and hear the sound of men talking on the deck just above him, but, in the hold, it was so still he could hear himself breathing.

He could barely move, and not just because his wrists were securely bound to a metal pillar behind him. Even if he'd wanted to try to sit up straighter, there was a pounding in his head that seemed to overtake everything else any time he so much as shifted his weight. He'd been drugged, that much he knew, but he couldn't focus his thoughts long enough to remember much more than two men jumping him while he was investigating… something at the docks. One of them had stabbed a needle into his arm, and he'd felt himself grow weak and then collapse.

Everything had gone dark, and he didn't remember a thing between then and waking up with his wrists and ankles zip-tied and a rag stuffed in his mouth. It could've been five minutes, or it could have been five hours. He really had no way to know.

Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps that stopped directly above him. A trapdoor swung open, and sunlight streamed into the darkness.

Magnum squinted against the burst of light as the sudden brightness sent his head reeling. He could barely make out the figure approaching him, although he was grateful when the man's form moved in front of the light and blocked it from his face.

He wondered what was about to happen. Was he about to be interrogated? Untied only to be dumped overboard?

Wordlessly, the man lifted his hand, and Magnum now could make out the outline of a syringe. He didn't even have time to process what was about to happen before the man leaned over and there was a pinch as the needle pierced his arm. As silently as he'd come, the man turned on his heel and climbed back up the short ladder. The door slammed shut again, and the darkness once again enveloped Magnum.

And then the drugs kicked in. His stomach roiled, the pounding in his head increased, and, even in the darkness, sparks of light started dancing across his vision. He felt like he was freezing and burning up all at the same time, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

The darkness pulling at the edges of his consciousness was ominous, and something clenched at his stomach as he felt himself starting to slide toward it.

As he sagged back against the pillar, breaths coming heavily through his nose, he heard a new sound from above him—or, he _thought_ he heard it. With the way his head was aching, he wasn't actually certain if he was imagining it or not. It could just be another side to the drug, making him hear things, but he could swear he could hear a second boat motor coming alongside the one that had been purring from somewhere nearby him ever since he'd woken up.

And then there were voices, and now he really wasn't sure if he was hearing things. No… no, he was sure they were real. Magnum felt hope surging within him. It was Rick and Higgy above the deck, talking to someone. They'd found him somehow.

Their voices increased in volume until he was sure they were standing right on top of him, and he forced his breathing to quiet so he could hear what they were saying.

"…thank you so much for stopping." That was Higgy. "I can't believe we ran out of fuel like that."

"No problem," a gruff voice responded. "Always glad to help a fellow boater."

And now Rick spoke up. "Wouldn't you know it? We were just out for a romantic day on the water, and it turned out a little differently than planned."

"Yes, because _someone _forgot to check the fuel before we left," Higgins returned, and Magnum could practically see her rolling her eyes.

"But it was fine after the last time I took it out! I made sure to check it!" Rick objected, then added, "I think."

"Yes, clearly, you did a remarkable job of it."

The third voice cleared his throat. "Right, folks, well, let's get you filled up and back to shore, hm?" The man sounded like he just wanted to get rid of them.

Magnum felt his muscles tensing as the voices started to fade away again. That wasn't right. Higgy and Rick had to have figured out who had taken him and where he was, but then why weren't they doing anything? Had they assumed he wasn't there after a quick look around and decided to move on to the next possible location? He didn't want to stop and think about that possibility, about what it would mean if they did leave him.

He tried to call out, but he couldn't form a sound around the cloth that filled his mouth, When he tried to move to make a noise that might alert them to his location, he couldn't force his limbs to cooperate.

The efforts quickly sapped his strength, and he sank back against the pillar once again. His head was pounding even more, and a fog was starting to fill his mind and drown out any other thoughts. He tried to hold on to the memories of his friends' voices, but even those seemed so far away and hard to reach… He thought he heard loud noises close by, but he just couldn't concentrate… he couldn't focus…

Magnum slowly let his eyes drift closed, not even noticing the difference in the darkness that surrounded him as the fatigue overtook him…

Then he was moving, drifting upward, and he wanted to open his eyes, but it just took too much effort. He groaned and shifted, surprised when he didn't feel the cold metal against his back any longer.

"Hey, Magnum, can you hear me?"

Huh, that sounded like Higgy. Maybe he really had been able to retain the memory of her voice after all.

"Magnum! Come on; open your eyes. Look at me. Come on."

Imaginary Higgy was bossy.

"The hospital should be able to tell us what they used on him," another voice spoke up.

Magnum frowned. Why was he imagining Katsumoto now? Where had Higgy gone?

A hand on his cheek drew all of his attention, and he leaned into it even while he still couldn't force his eyes to open.

"He's _here," _Higgins said, a soft catch to her voice. "Whatever they gave him, it must be strong."

Even as Katsumoto replied, Magnum could feel himself starting to slowly slide back into unconsciousness. But, this time, it wasn't dark and frightening like it had when he'd been alone and trapped. This time, he knew his friends would be waiting for him whenever he woke up.

* * *

_Fin._


End file.
